Steps property owners can take to prevent slip-and-fall accidents

Whenever we slip, trip or fall, many of us have a tendency to blame our own clumsiness. We think, “Oh, I’m such a klutz and should have been able to avoid that accident.” However, the truth is there are some situations where it is not clumsiness that leads to a falling accident; it is the negligence of others.

In this blog post, we will look at some of the reasonable, responsible actions property owners should take to keep other safe.

Among other actions, property owners should:

Clean up spills right away

Put a sign near an area where a floor is or very likely could be wet

Remove obstacles from public walkways

Install lights to improve visibility

Install handrails and other supports to help people get up or down stairs

Repair any loose or broken flooring

Secure rugs

Clear away snow, ice and other hazards that can be covering the ground

None of these measures seems all that difficult, but there are property owners who fail to take these and other simple precautions to improve the safety or a particular area.

When these steps are ignored, the risk of falling, tripping or slipping increases. Of course, a property owner can’t necessarily prevent every accident from happening, but he or she should take reasonable measures to address and eradicate existing hazards and warn others of potential hazards that could likely develop.

Rather than assume an accident was your own fault, you might want to consider the fact that it happened because a property owner failed to do what he or she was supposed to do. In these situations, the attorneys at our law firm can explain your options to take legal action seeking financial compensation for the damages suffered as a result of a slip-and-fall accident. For more information, visit our premises liability website.